


Scenes from a wedding

by chicklitbitch



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 10:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10554476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicklitbitch/pseuds/chicklitbitch
Summary: Post-revival. Lorelai and Luke's wedding day. Rory ponders about her future, with a little nudge from Jess.





	

 

Lorelai’s in the middle of a wedding day hair dilemma when Rory barges into the room.

 

“There you are. I can’t decide … up or down?” Lorelai asks from the dresser bench she’s sitting on, pinning her hair over her head and then back down her shoulder, inspecting her reflection for the hundredth time.

“Up”

 

“You sure? I feel like my face is overexposed”

 

“Hey, I have that face. It's a great face.”

 

Lorelai can’t argue with that logic. Rory joins her, then takes a brush from the dresser and silently stars going through her mother’s hair.

 

“How are you feeling?” Lorelai breaks the silence.

 

“About the wedding? it was about time.”

 

“About the other thing.”

 

There’s a second of complete stillness before Rory talks. “How about some locks on the side to frame your cheekbones?”

 

“Rory.”

 

“Mom, Today is about you. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

 

“Why?”

She looks at her daughter’s reflection trying to catch something in her yes, anything. She so madly wants to know what’s going on in that brainy head of hers, and she just can’t figure it out. She hates that.

 

“Cause if i do then it become a thing” Rory stops brushing and her voice cracks ever so slightly “and when it becomes a thing it’s real and there’s no turning back. Soon everybody will find out and they’ll start asking questions about work, and housing and him and i just wanna have this one day. Please.”

 

Rory lifts her head and their eyes meet in the mirror, finally.

 

“Some locks would be nice.” It’s all Lorelai says.

 

Rory starts brushing again without a sound.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m coming, i’m coming!” Rory shouts running down the stairs, careful not to trip on her four inch heels.

 

When she opens the door, Jess is staring at her dresses to the nines in a tight-fitting navy suit. If she wasn’t so speechless right now, she would whistle.

 

“Hi. You look nice” he blurts out, eying her figure wrapped in a mauve peplum dress.

 

 _Deja-vu_. Rory’s mind wanders back to fourteen years prior, when Jess showed up at Sookie’s wedding announced, his heart on his sleeve and a mind full of good intentions. But that was the past, she reasons. So she shuts those memories in the back of her mind. It’s the last thing you should be thinking about right now.

 

“Hi. So do you. You’re wearing a tie.”

 

“Don’t get too used to it. It’s probably gonna be off by the time cake is served. Can i -” he gestures towards the foyer.

 

“Oh yeah, come in.”

 

Jess barely has time to make it into the living room when Luke appears from the hallway.

 

“There's the man of the hour.” Jess greets him with a hug.

 

“Pocket square and everything.” Luke points to his jacket. “Rory, what do you think?”

 

“Handsome like Rande Gerber and youthful like the Gerber baby.”

 

He nods in recognition. “You don’t look bad yourself. You’re glowing”

 

Rory chuckles uncomfortably. The last thing she needs to be reminded of is her current state.

 

“Thank Sephora for that”

 

“Who’s Sephora?”

 

“Never mind.”

 

“So, you’re ready to go?” Jess nudges his uncle.

 

“Yeah.” He turns to face his stepdaughter-to-be. “Rory ... we’ll see you at the wedding.”

 

She waves the men goodbye as they leave, then sinks on the sofa ungracefully. Picking up her phone from the coffee table, she scrolls through the names in her contacts, lingering on Logan’s. Maybe she should call him. Text him, at least. As much as she tried to push the dilemma out of her mind and focus on the wedding, thoughts of babies and her undefined future keep fogging her mind. Everything and everybody remind her of her current state, no matter what. _Is that what pregnancy brain feels like?_

 

Her train of thought is cut short by a shrill sound coming from upstairs.

 

“Rory, where are you???”

 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” she yells back hurrying up the stairs, phone forgotten on the sofa cushion.

 

* * *

 

 

The wedding is as beautiful as the one the night before. The ceremony itself is quick and heartfelt. When it’s time to exchange the rings, Rory catches even the unbreakable Paris Geller wipe a little tear, which they’re never gonna discuss, since she would never admit to it anyways.

 

* * *

 

After food is served, Miss Patty’s dancers come out to the dance floor wearing a t-shirt with Luke’s face that reads _Luke says relax_. The whole performance is so bizarre and quintessentially Stars Hollow and Luke can’t help but cover his blushing face, peeking here and there while the guests laugh and dance along.

 

“I gotta admit, this is genius.” Jess leans over the table to Rory. “Those t-shirts are _awful._ ”

 

“There’s one for every guest to take home.” Rory laughs.

 

 

* * *

 

The party's in full swing, and everybody scattered to mingle. Rory is chatting idly with some distant relatives, or rather getting a third degree about every single aspect of her miserable life, when she spots Jess sitting in a corner, engrossed in a tome. Some things never changed.

“You bring a book to your uncle’s wedding … you’re incorrigible, Mr. Mariano” She sneaks up from behind him.

 

“Busted.” Jess turns his head to face her.

 

The loud music surrounding them until that moment fades, and Zack takes the stage with Hep Alien, interrupting the wedding party.

 

"Ahem, alright ... ladies and gentleman, It's time for the first dance, so please join Lorelai and Luke on the dance floor."

 

The band begins to play softly an acoustic version of Bangles' Eternal Flame and people swarm to the dance floor.

 

“Do you dance, Mr. Darcy?” Rory asks in a mock posh accent.

 

“Not if i can help it.” Jess replies without missing a beat, his hand sandwiched between the pages as a bookmark. “You know, I never pegged you for an Austen movie type. Figured you were a purist.”

 

“Could say the same about you.”

 

“What can i say, chicks dig them.” he arched an eyebrow.

 

“Touchè.”

 

“Touchè.”

 

“So, what’s so interesting that’s keeping you away from your own uncle’s wedding?”

 

“Work.” He holds up a thick manuscript “I gotta finish this by tomorrow night.”

 

“Whoa, that’s big.”

 

“You go try reasoning with authors that quality is not quantity. It’s like - edit, geez”

 

“That’s David Foster Wallace’s legacy.” “So, about that dance?”

 

“I -”

 

“I hate to bring this up but you do owe me. I promise your precious manuscript is not going anywhere. He and the chair will keep each other good company.”

 

"Fine." he concedes, rolling his eyes.

 

She takes his hand and leads him to the packed dance floor. Their hands still joined, she rests her free one on his shoulder while his one falls on her back, as they fall into the melody.

 

Their eyes meet as they sway, and something hits her.

 

They haven't been this close in ages, not since that night at Truncheon when they last kissed. It had been so easy to dismiss him as an acquaintance in the past eight years, briefly seeing each other when they both were in town to see their families. It had a been a very _out of sight, out of mind_ kind of situation, but now she suddenly feels nervous in a way she hasn't felt with him in a while, and she's not exactly sure what that means or if she should even be thinking about it with everything that's already going on. She can tell he's feeling the same way by the tension on his grip, and she can't thank him enough when he finally breaks the tension to speak up.

 

"So, you're writing."

 

"Gotta strike while the iron's hot."

 

"Good. It's gonna be a hit, i can feel it."

 

"You haven't even read it yet."

 

"I _know_ it will be good. Hey, If you're ever short of a publisher - not that I’m saying you will be, but if you ever need anything, it would be an honor."

 

"Thanks. I'll take you up on that."

 

* * *

 

"He's not over it." Luke observes, swaying on the dance floor with his new wife.

 

"Who?" Lorelai asks, and Luke tilts his dead towards the other side of the dance floor, where Rory and Jess are swaying.

 

"I asked him yesterday" he continues "He said he's over it. He's not."

 

"How do -"

 

"Cause I know that look."

 

"Oh."

 

* * *

 

The song fades, and couples disperse on the dance floor as the music changes to an up-tempo cover of some 70s one hit wonder.

 

“So, do you wanna go for a walk?” Jess breaks the ice after he and Rory untangle their limbs.

 

“I thought you had your manuscript to read.”

 

“Eh, it can wait.”

 

They quickly bid their adieu to Lorelai and Luke, and the intrigued looks the newlyweds throw at them as they leave together is not lost on them.

 

“What do you wanna talk to me about?” Rory asks as they step out of the town square.

 

“That obvious?”

 

“Your days of broody mystique are long gone, I’m afraid.”

 

“I have a proposition for you.”

 

“Go on.”

 

“I know that with the book you have a lot going on, but I’ve been thinking and I heard the Gazette might be closing soon. Again.”

 

Rory gulps.

 

“That’s a great space. Nice location. It would be be a waste leaving it empty.”

 

She furrows her brows, not sure where Jess is going with this. “I agree.”

 

“Would you be interested in running a potential Truncheon branch in here?”

 

“I know nothing about publishing books, I’m a journalist.”

 

“But you know a lot about books, and you wouldn’t be alone. One of my buddies from Philly would assist you at the beginning, teach you the ropes. I would come by, see how it’s going only a few times a year.”

 

A small smile crosses Rory’s face as she pictures herself in her hometown, surrounded by local artists.

 

“Tell me you’re not even a little intrigued.” Jess cocks an eyebrow in her direction.

 

“I admit it does sound appealing” she smiles, “But I can’t get back to you right away.”

 

“I totally understand. Take your time.”

 

 

They walk some more, past the lake, before Rory breaks the silence.

 

“Why Stars Hollow?”

 

“Hm?”

 

"Since when do you like it here?"

 

“New York’s too expensive.”

 

“I’m serious.” Rory reprimands him.

 

“What can I say? Small town charm’s grown on me.” He simply shrugs.

 

* * *

 

 

That night, Rory can’t sleep. She taps her worries away, ruminating on her options. She’s resolute on having her baby with or without a father. Given her upbringing she wouldn’t have it any other way. Unfortunately, she knows that this decision also leaves her with a million of other choices she needs to make not only for herself, but for the small life growing inside her. Where would they live? How would she support her child? What role would Logan play in their lives? Her mother was strong enough to figure all that out at sixteen, but would she be able to do that, albeit older?

The more questions pop into her head, the more intense her tapping becomes. She’s drenched in sweat, panting, when she trips, falling on the kitchen tiles.

That’s when she breaks down. One tear falls onto her cheek, and soon one becomes two and two become four, and before she can even realize it, she’s in a sobbing heap, one hand holding her stomach and the other wiping the tears and sweat off of her face. She feels the biggest fraud in the universe, her worldly woman image crumbling in front of her. Technically she’s a grown up, but deep down, she knows she’s still so young. She wishes her mother was there to rock her tears away like she did many times before when she was younger, instead of on her honeymoon.

 

She shift on her side to retrieve her phone from the table, dialing Lorelai’s cell number.

 

“Hey kid, what’s up?” Lorelai replies groggily.

 

“I think I’m ready to talk, mom.”

 

FIN

 


End file.
